Open to the will of God

Chris Christensen

Through his discernment and time at the seminary,
transitional deacon Chris Christensen has learned to let God
work within him. Now he will be able to share his deep love
for Christ with others by serving as a priest after
ordination June 7.

"The whole process has been an exercise of openness to the
will of God," he said. "Allowing Him to work the way that He
wants to has been essential for me."

Born in Washington state May 7, 1984, Deacon Christensen grew
up one of three children in a military family. In 1992, he
moved with his family to Woodbridge, where he attended St.
Thomas Aquinas Regional School and Our Lady of Angels Church.

He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria
in 2002 and went to the University of Notre Dame in South
Bend, Ind. There, he studied philosophy and Japanese and
became involved in its Navy ROTC program. He also became
involved with campus ministry, where his friends and
spiritual directors kept him connected to the faith and
prompted him to maintain a good prayer life. In prayer, he
began to have thoughts about the priesthood.

"But I put it off for a while," he said. "I thought that I
had to go into the Navy."

After graduating from college in 2006, Deacon Christensen was
commissioned into the Navy and stationed in Japan, where he
served on the USS Blue Ridge. In Japan, the thoughts about
the priesthood became something he could not ignore.

"As I became more involved with all my naval duties, this
voice in the back of my head grew louder and louder," Deacon
Christensen recalled.

He talked to his Navy chaplain on base, who was Catholic. The
chaplain helped him realize that the military chaplaincy
needs more priests.

"The more I worked on my ship, the more I tried to be a good
naval officer, the idea of priesthood became clearer to me,"
he said.

Then, during a Christmas break, Deacon Christensen and three
other sailors took a short flight to Seoul, South Korea,
where the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services was
holding a vocation discernment retreat. After he returned to
his ship, he emailed Father Brian G. Bashista, former
Arlington diocesan vocations director, and Navy chaplain
Father Frank Foley, to see if pursuing a vocation was even
possible.

"I didn't know it was even possible," he said. "But I decided
to give it a shot and see what happens."

After lots of discussion and paperwork, Deacon Christensen
was re-commissioned to the military in 2008 - this time as a
chaplain candidate. Everything fell into place, and he
entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., that
year.

In addition to keeping up with his studies, he learned to
juggle all his responsibilities. This skill was especially
helpful this year while he served as a transitional deacon
both at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington and St.
Thomas Aquinas Church in Philadelphia. Deacon Christensen
said he had a taste of the business of a cleric's life, and
was able to experience its rewards.

He preached and gave communion on Sundays at the cathedral
and enjoyed helping with baptisms, the Legion of Mary, and
youth and young adult groups. "It was fantastic to come back
on breaks and at Easter," he said.

Deacon Christensen said the priests he has met in the last 10
years - in the Arlington Diocese, the Navy and in college -
have shown him a lot of different models of priesthood. He
has become close with priests who projected their deep faith
and charity in every aspect of their lives, and they have
taught him the importance of having a welcoming interaction
with parishioners.

At St. Thomas Aquinas, he served people from many different
countries, especially their large Hispanic, Vietnamese and
Indonesian communities. Deacon Christensen's ministry was
focused on Vietnamese and Indonesian youths and young adults.

"Working with immigrant communities was great," he said.
"They were very open, genuine, kind, wonderful people. It
made me more comfortable working with people who are not of
my same background."

"Seeing their struggles and their approach to these struggles
through their deep faith was inspiring and encouraging to
me," he said. "I could see how strengthening their faith goes
a long way in their lives."

Deacon Christensen is looking forward to strengthening
people's faith and bringing people closer to Christ.
Co-sponsored by the Arlington Diocese and the military
archdiocese, Deacon Christensen will be ordained to the
priesthood in Arlington June 7 and will first serve local
parishes before serving as an active duty Navy chaplain.

"I look forward to just being a priest and being able to lead
people to Christ in every aspect of their lives," he said.
"My relationship with Christ guided everything in my life and
I want to be able to share that."